12th July 2024 at 1:14pm
HMS Duncan has been busy with intensive training, gunnery, flying and carrying out replenishments at sea since being deployed last month.
The Portsmouth-based warship has even linked up with two US Navy task forces in the eastern Mediterranean as part of a regional security mission.
The Type 45 air defence destroyer deployed at the end of May, joining the USS Dwight D Eisenhower’s Carrier Strike Group and USS Wasp’s Amphibious Ready Group to ensure regional stability.
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This latest work with the US Navy and Marine Corps follows an intensive period of training and trials that has ensured the sailors and ships are ready for frontline operations.
“I am proud of what my ship’s company have achieved in such an extremely short period,” said HMS Duncan’s Commanding Officer, Commander Dan Lee.
“As a team they rose to the challenge and with Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) support achieved the extremely high standards required to ensure we are ready for anything asked of us.”
HMS Duncan left Portsmouth in May to relieve her sister ship HMS Diamond, who had been operating in the Red Sea since before Christmas.
HMS Duncan was a like-for-like replacement for Diamond – armed with the same Sea Viper missile system and equipped with the same radar systems, which can accurately detect faraway threats.
The warship has carried out several exercises since joining the USS Wasp’s task group in early July, including a replenishment at sea with the oiler USNS Patuxent.
As well as operating US Navy Sea Hawk helicopters from her deck, Duncan has demonstrated her prowess during an air defence exercise, which saw the warship fight off attacks from AV-8B Harrier II jets from USS Wasp.
One training package saw Duncan conduct a “Thursday War” – a warfighting and damage control exercise, which put her previous training into practice.
This included adopting Defence Watches, where the crew is at a heightened level, ready to carry out damage control, operate control stations and deploy weapons systems.
The phase required 50% of the ship’s company to work around the clock, providing increased readiness of workforce and equipment.
During this period there were several gunnery shoots, firing all surface weapon systems multiple times – day and night – developing engineers’ skills and operators’ warfighting edge.
The six-day training period ended in a final exercise, with Duncan proving her ability to fight while also dealing with multiple incidents on board.
The ship then visited Souda Bay in Crete for store replenishment, a weapon and sensor trials period, a phase three training period and boarding accreditation – assessing the Royal Navy and Royal Marines boarding teams’ ability to cope with different boarding situations.
Since completing this intense training period, alongside normal maintenance and training routines, the ship’s company have enjoyed a hands-to-bathe ceremony in the Mediterranean Sea and a short port visit to Limassol in Cyprus.
Duncan has most recently been in Catania in Italy.